Illegal
by Winged Dancer
Summary: Zelos and Sheena play a game of tag. Literally. Lighthearted romance, oneshot.


**Title: **Illegal

**Author: **Winged Dancer

**Rating: **T

**Warnings:** Might be heavily dialogue-based and kinda minimalist at times. A few limey comments from Zelos. In other words, **Warnings: **Zelos being Zelos.

**Pairings: **Sheelos/Zeroshii alone.

**Disclaimer: **_Tales of Symphonia_ and the characters and places here appearing are not of my belonging nor do I claim any sort of ownership over them.

**Note:** This takes place after Rodeo Ride Tour, but is not connectoed to it. In other words, you can unerstand even if you haven't read the novelization. Ad over now!

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**Illegal**

by WingedDancer

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He had marched into her meeting room, cleared his throat and without even saying hello, announced:

"Well, now that everything's settled down and I can finally move on my own, I'm taking a vacation!"

She had stared at him, that morning's paperwork still in her hands before almost screaming

"What, another?"

"Whaddaya mean, 'another'? The time I spent with you can hardly be called a vacation!"

"Oh really? Then our definitions of 'vacation' must be really different then!"

"Why if you can call 'running around in the rain while some people try to kill me' a vacation then yes, they are!"

She heard Orochi sigh, get up and silently leave the room. He had already gotten too used to the Chosen barging into the place every now and then to get angry.

"So what's your definition of vacation then?"

Zelos had waggled a finger, smiling smugly. "A relax-trip accompanied by a few girls ready to –"

"Ugh, you pervert! Don't continue, please."

"Aww, c'mon! You have to admit you ain't the most relaxing woman to be 'round, you know…"

"…dear Chosen One, I recommend you choose your words with more care before I decide to permanently ban all of noble upbringing from entering Mizuho ever again."

"Hah, as if you could live without my… fine, don't look at me like that! If it makes you happy, I ain't taking anyone much different."

"Oh, really? Who is it you are taking then?" the question hadn't been meant to be answered; it was more of a challenge.

But he had answered anyway. "Seles."

"…your sister?" she'd never admit it openly, but a weight was lifted from her chest when she heard that name. How had the mighty fallen, she had though – to feel jealous because of that stupid Chosen…

"Yup. I kinda promised her, you know… a year ago, or more, I think, that I would take her on a trip… she's lived almost all of her life in that abbey, and her childhood… well, it wasn't all sugary. So I promised her I'd show her how this new world is… different,"

For a moment he had looked serious, almost as if he was longing for something she didn't know. Then he had grinned once more, "And she's been nagging me all day long for weeks now, so I guess it's about time I got off my ass!"

"Yes it is!"

"So!" up he went, "I just came to let you know that."

"And why should I want to know, pray tell?"

"Because you are _so_ in love with me, so I'm sure you'd like to be there to say goodbye. So, next Friday, five and a half in the morning."

She knew that was his way of saying _he_ wanted her to be there to say goodbye. But it just wouldn't do to let him know she understood.

"As if I would get up so early just to see you, idiot!"

But needless to say, there she was, walking into the Meltokio Castle town as the sun began to rise.

"Damn," she sighed as she walked around the plaza's fountain.

It wasn't even five o'clock, and there she was.

"Stupid Chosen."

She had grown fond of him. That wasn't something Sheena Fujibayashi would admit out loud and sometimes not even to herself, but deep down inside her it was clear enough.

When it had happened, she couldn't say. One day she just realized he was now an important part of her life, and that she actually wanted him to play an even bigger role…

Her wish had been fulfilled, at least to some degree. Ever since their short journey had ended, the Chosen had taken to visiting Mizuho more and more frequently, sometimes twice or thrice a week. And since his excuses had started getting lame she had stopped asking him why…

…the reason was pretty obvious, all in all.

And yet, they were still only 'friends'.

Zelos was standing in the small garden at the front of his house, languidly leaning against a wall with a cup in one hand, face turned to the sky, eyes closed. Seles was nowhere to be seen and, truthfully, she was surprised to see him up and about so early in the morning.

Maybe he was just waiting for her to appear.

That thought felt nice and warm inside her.

He noticed her once she was half-way to the fence. Smiling as he always did he walked across the garden 'till they were facing each other, separated only by the elegant metallic balustrade that enclosed the Wilder estate.

"…well well, good morning to you!" he greeted her, using a voice she thought was all too full of meanings unfit for those early hours.

"Good morning, Zelos…"

Before she could continue, he interrupted her: "It was just like you to pick such an unheavenly time to meet, Sheena! Don't you know I need at _least_ eight hours of sleep to keep this beauty intact?"

"…what the hell are you talking about? You were the one who told me to come this early!"

He rubbed an eye. "Yes, but I hate being up so early and I needed someone to whine to."

"You can whine to Seles next time, then!"

"Are you kidding? She'd kill me!"

"And what makes you think _I_ wouldn't?"

"That you came here… all the way from Mizuho… just to see me…" the Chosen leaned onto the rail, closing in towards her slowly. She stepped back a little.

"I was expecting a lot more groupies, though. Did you suddenly lose popularity?"

"Of course not! The Great Zelos is not someone people can forget about!"

"Oh I'll bet…"

"I just… mistook the date."

"…mistook?"

"Yup. I told them all I was leaving tomorrow at three o'clock in the morning."

She stared at him for an instant before breaking into laughter. "You must really hate them all."

"Why, I'm appalled you should think that! It is… er… a test for their everlasting love for me!"

"Yeah, right…"

"It is! I'll ask Sebastian to stay up and, uh, write down the names of the ones that actually show up."

"Poor guy."

"Hey, it's in his job description!"

"What, 'you shall fulfill your master's most imbecile whims'?"

"Yes, that exactly!"

"Poor guy, then."

Zelos laughed, and so did she. She liked his laughter because it was carefree, he never wondered who heard it and what would they think or whether he was waking anyone up with it.

"So… wanna come inside and have some breakfast?"

She shook her head. "Ew, it's way too early to have breakfast."

"How 'bout some coffee then?"

"Nah… I'm fine."

He nodded a little, taking a small sip from his cup, and she stared at him.

Then she noticed she was staring and quickly looked away, at the music academy down the street. Staring at him was something she had been doing a lot as of lately; it was not something she did consciously… she just stared. And then Zelos would say something like 'I know, I'm so pretty' and she would snap at him and feel all uncomfortable.

"So…" the Chosen began again and Sheena felt glad he did.

Stupid how they had known each other for years now and had traveled together a number of times and yet, out of the blue, these kinds of silences kept appearing. They weren't uncomfortable or awkward, but it made her feel as though there were things they wanted to say and yet they weren't telling.

"So…" Zelos had said, and again his voice turned playful. "If you don't want neither breakfast not coffee, how 'bout a kiss?"

"You wish!"

"But I do! That's why I'm telling you!" he reached out as if to pinch her cheek and almost managed to do so before she beat him to it and pinched his nose roughly. He drew back, setting himself free and rubbing the offended zone. "I swear; you'll be the death of me hunny!"

"Don't call me that! And you'll be the death of yourself, if you keep acting like that."

"Hah! As if you didn't want a piece of this beautiful body of mine…" to accentuate his point he stretched luxuriously and stood like that, looking at the clock that hung from the musical academy's front. "Already ten past five, uh? Time runs short now," he turned and smiled at her in that special smile he didn't use so often…

"…don't stare at me like that," she squeaked, knowing she was blushing and looking aside in an effort to hide it.

"Why not? I'm not gonna see you in like months. I wanna look at you real good before leaving," his hand, gloveless, reached out and took a few strands of her hair, tugging playfully at it in an effort to make her turn.

"It's still weird though."

"But you stare at me all the time!"

"I do _not_!"

"Hah!" he poked her nose, "Got you to look here."

"…stupid Chosen."

"Hey, Sheena… how about a good-bye, see you later kiss, mh?"

"You still insist with…?" she didn't get much farther.

Once more he started to lean over the fence and somehow she knew he was serious. And as his face came closer and closer, once more a question arose within her.

_Would things change…_

Zelos was just a few inches away now.

…_if she replied differently?_

She didn't move, she didn't step back. But she did put her hand in front of her face, so that in between their faces there a little more than an inch in flesh and cloth.

Zelos frowned and sighed into her hand. "Oo are reelly fhy, oo know?"

"I didn't understand half of what you said."

In response, Zelos shrugged and bit her glove, grinning.

"Let go."

" 'ope."

"What do you gain doing that? I'm still not kissing you."

"Sho crhuel."

"Fine then!" quickly she unfastened the glove's buttons and, with some trouble, slipped her hand out of it, leaving a confused Chosen with a purple glove hanging from his mouth. "There. You get to keep that and I get my hand back. Happy?"

He took the accessory from his mouth and rubbed it against his cheek, taking a few steps back. "Oh, very! How handy this will be, during those lonely, long nights…" he kept retreating into the garden, "When it's only me and my memories… yes, very handy!"

"…pervert! I've changed my mind! Give that back!"

"Noooohohohohoho, you said I could have it! It's mine now!"

"Ooooh, we'll see about that!" not a second after she had said she was over the fence and running towards the redheaded, "I'm not letting my glove suffer that kind of transgression!"

Zelos, who against all odds wasn't that stupid, started running towards the garden's entrance. "You gave it to me! You can't take back a present!"

"That was no present, you pervert!"

They had probably wakened half of the noble quarter by then, so perhaps it was a good thing that Zelos managed to escape the ninja's wrath and out of the district and down to the public plaza, Sheena hot onto him.

"Help! I'm being chased by a banshee!"

"Don't call me that, you idiot!"

"And she's angry, too!"

All the way down to the fountain and around it and into Melotkio's shopping borough the Chosen ran, turning around a few times or waving his prize above his head to taunt his pursuer.

And just as he was forced to slow down to turn at a corner, behind him he could hear something that sounded like "GRAAAAAAH!" and then he was on the floor, a lot of ninja pinning him down.

He coughed. "Well, although being slammed against cobblestones does hurt…"

Ignoring him, she reached out her hand to his, tugging at the glove.

"…I think I rather like our current position, yep… if I hang onto this, does that mean you'll keep pressing your body against mine like that?"

"You see now why I didn't want to leave my glove with you?"

"But it would serve a great purpose!"

"I don't even want to think about that, so don't mention it!" with one more tug she got her glove free and sat onto the Chosen's back. "Now, have you calmed down enough that I can get up?"

With ease that surprised her he managed to turn around. "Nope. Still feeling rather excited, so perhaps you oughta sit on my lap for a while longer."

"Aaaah! You can twist anything, you… deviant!" she got off him as if he was on fire and didn't allow herself to delve deeper into that metaphor.

"And you could play along, you know!"

"In your dreams," she got up and headed back into the plaza.

"_That_ much is obvious, and with less clothes, too!" the Chosen called from behind. Because she feeling merciful, however, she decided to ignore it, just that one time

It was funny, though: she had expected him to lung at her as soon as she was off him in an effort to get the glove back… and yet he was calmly getting up, dusting himself off and complaining about how Seles would yell at him for getting so dirty.

So she kept walking, out of the shopping street and towards the stairs that led to Meltokio Castle, but then her ninja sense tingled and she looked around… just in time to see a bunch of wild, red hair charging head-first against her.

She ran. Around the fountain and up to the Palace's plaza, almost colliding with a baker and barely avoiding a young boy standing by a pile of newspapers. Around the plaza and down to the fountain once more, and then she discovered she was laughing.

When had she forgotten her anger and started enjoying that little tag-game?

Again into the shopping district where he cornered her and she thought she was done for before ducking under his arms and running away, the distance in between getting smaller and smaller and then his fingers got a precarious hold of one of her ribbons but at the speed they were going it was enough to unfasten the knot and she was forced to slow down for just a second, to keep her shirt closed in a way that would allow her to run at the same time.

But that was enough to give the Chosen advantage, and not five steps later Zelos tackled her, one arm wrapped around her waist, and she was lifted off the ground and twirled around while he took once more the purple glove she held in her hand.

"Ha-hah!" the man cried, still holding her up with one arm as he showed his trophy high above his head. "And so I recover my Lady's token from my Lady's deadly clutches!"

In between her panting she still had to laugh. "You stupid Chosen. If a lady reclaims her token that means she disowns the knight, she's not taunting him. Lemme down!"

"That's for the knight to decide," he grinned as he set her down and looked with interest as she re-tied her ribbon around her waist. Too tired to yell at him, she walked towards one of the benches that were lined around the fountain and let herself fall onto it, sighing.

"Ah, I'm drained now!"

"…does that mean I get to keep this?"

"Sure, sure…"

"Booyah! Hah! I got Sheena's gloo-oove, I got Shee-na's gloooove…"

She shook her head al little at the Chosen's rather childish behavior. " …what time is it, anyway?"

"Must be almost five and a half."

She snorted. "It should be illegal to be this tired so early in the morning."

Still standing Zelos looked at her for some seconds before grinning widely. "Why, you should've just said that before, my hunny!"

"…what?"

"Yes, just watch…" he turned his back to her, one hand at his waist and another high above his head (with the glove still firmly clutched) and declared:

"I, Zelos Wilder, descendant of the Lineage of Mana, Chosen One of Tethe'alla, by the powers vested upon me by the Church of Martel and the Royal Family, hereby declare that from this day onwards any civilian found to be tired in public areas during the early morning; early becoming 'from one o'clock to six o'clock in the morning', shall be found guilty of ignoring the law and challenging the Chosen One's authority, and will therefore be subject to sentence and punishment by any of the Mana Lineage or any authorities present at the moment. I have spoken, and may the Goddess listen!"

Sheena stared at him and then started to giggle. "Zelos… what are you talking about?"

But, paying no heed to her words, he turned around and looked at her with stern eyes. "You, miss, seem to be infringing the law, now. You look awfully tired to me, and it's not six o'clock yet. Didn't you hear what I just said?"

"Aw, please Zelos, you weren't… you _were_ serious?"

"Of course I was! I used all the fancy protocol, too! Aaaaand, I don't see any authorities around here besides me," tucking the glove in his belt he crossed his arms and shook his head, "I'm afraid I shall have to take care of your punishment, miss."

"…you wouldn't dare…"

"But I would! I've got the law on my side!" the Chosen clapped his hands (just for the hell of it, probably) and walked 'till he was in front of her. "Now, what penalty should I impose you, my dear, tired delinquent?" he sat down next to her, resting one arm on the bench's back-rest behind her head. "I'm feeling kind today, so I'll let you go with… two kisses."

"What? Why!"

"Because one is too little and if I say three you'd slap me! Now, just remember you are doing your civic duty as a citizen of Tethe'alla… and think of me."

All she had wanted to scream died in her throat when she heard those words.

And she knew that the only possible answer was to blush a little and wait as he leaned closer, resting his forehead on hers and looking at her eyes, laughing quietly as his free hand came up to caress her neck.

So he was just as nervous as she, then.

So she closed her eyes and felt his nose softly touching hers and his breath upon her skin, and then finally his lips touched hers in an electric, fleeting kiss that created colors within all of her body.

And then once more he kissed her and this time she made sure to answer, inexpertly kissing back and reaching out, timidly, her hand to his shoulder.

How long did that kiss last? She wasn't sure nor would she ever be. But when they finally broke away she was completely aware that she hadn't felt so happy in a while. Zelos, too, was smiling just that smile she liked the most.

"Well, that concludes your sentence, miss. But I think you look just like someone who would relapse just to piss off the authorities, so… I'll have to keep an eye on you, you know," he wrapped an arm around her waist, hugging her closer, "As soon as I get back. That's a promise."

So many things the ninja would've liked to answer. 'If that's the punishment I'll try to break the law more often' or perhaps something kinky as 'I've been a bad girl, officer!', but more importantly, 'When will you be back?'.

Because now she knew she was going to miss him, miss him so much.

But she didn't feel strong enough to answer. So instead she laid her head on his shoulder and allowed him to nuzzle her hair and take her hand as the sun rose over the city.

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**Notes:** On a later note, Zelos' new law had to be revoked soon after due to the sheer number of people who were found to be tired during the early morning: it was impossible for the Church to manage all the 'criminals'. It is reported the Chosen was scolded by the King but got away with promising he wouldn't create new laws again just to kiss girls.

I wrote this little thing months ago, but I decided not to post it until Rodeo Ride Tour was done. As you can see, it is only a small piece of light-hearted romance but I took a liking to it.

I hope you liked it too ˆ-ˆ Remember English is not my native language and therefore, you'll be a great help if you can point out any mistakes you might've found… reviews and critique are terribly welcome and even more desired, so make my day!

Thanks for reading,

_WDR_


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